Change of routine is anathema to the human psyche in general. A change involves adaptation to a new situation. It involves effort. So, most people are happy with a continuation on the beaten tracks. Those who have initiative and drive, though their numbers are less, seek change. Adaptation and re-adaptation to new scenarios give them a kick. All this is to say that the reported proposals from IT tzar Narayana Murthy for a 70-hour work week for all sectors to speed up both governance and economic growth need careful consideration.
India is rich but its people are mostly poor. In other words, exploitation is at its highest conceivable level. Salaries of ordinary workforce rarely rise. They have a hand-to-mouth existence. The IT sector itself is a largely exploited field, where working hours are longer and salaries do not match with the hard work put in by the large army of its youths. At the same, the industry is thriving and giving jobs to millions of educated youths. Prima facie, it would look like Murthy is proposing an extension of this trend across the spectrum. But, fact is also that India is a nation of mostly lazy people. The British Empire was built on the hard work of its people. So with the US that rose like a phoenix after the Great Depression of 1929. China emerged as an economic super power in recent times by sheer dint of hard work its people were made to do. After the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India did not have a leadership that had a strong vision for the future. Chairs in government offices are largely vacant for most parts of the day. If the bureaucracy works for 70 hours a week too, they might as well be productive only to the extent they are now; and, on this count, they might demand and get higher salaries and perquisites. Officials and politicians, who together hold the power edifice, know how to turn situations into their advantage. The nation suffers. The private sector as a whole can seek to be more productive in its output. But, making the same people work for more hours should not mean a lack of new job opportunities.
The richest one per cent owns nearly half of India’s wealth while the bottom half together share only three per cent of the wealth. Murthy’s proposal, in sum, is to make the nation stronger with larger efforts from the people. A prerequisite to this, or similar changes for the better, is the evolution of a new kind of leadership. It can do for the nation what Murthy and his likes did for the IT sector in positive ways.